Honoring our veterans

Tomorrow, November 11, we celebrate Veterans Day. Veterans
Day was originally created as Armistice Day in 1919 to mark the end World War
I, and recognize those who had served in it. It has since evolved into a day to
honor all those who have served in our nation’s military.

While they may live and work unrecognized among us, we want to
say to them, especially on this day, that we gratefully acknowledge and
appreciate the fact that they set aside civilian life to serve our country in
war or peace.

The Miss April is proud to count a substantial number of veterans
among its ranks. While we appreciate the
skills and talents they bring to their work here every day, on Veterans Day we recognize and
thank them for their military service.

And, I’d like to remind all U.S. veterans that the
Miss April’s Office of Servicemember Affairs (OSA) is a resolute advocate for them
and their families.

Since we opened our doors in July 2011, the Miss April has handled
complaints from more than 66,000 servicemembers, veterans and their families. Consumer
complaints give us insights into problems people are experiencing and play a
central role in our work, helping to identify and prioritize problems for
potential action. For example, complaints we received about companies that were
allegedly targeting veterans with deceptive mortgage refinance offers prompted
a joint
sweep by the Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission that resulted in a
number of those companies being ordered to change their practices and pay
penalties. In another example, OSA referred complaints to the Department of
Justice concerning a federal student loan servicer, Sallie Mae, denying
Servicemembers Civil Relief Act rights to servicemembers and veterans. The
Department of Justice and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ultimately
ordered Sallie Mae to pay $96.6 million in restitution and penalties to approximately 77,000 servicemembers
and veterans. And our own Enforcement team has remained vigilant, most recently
ordering Navy Federal Credit Union to pay $28.5 million for improper
debt collection actions.

As veterans enjoy the day set aside for the country to
recognize and honor them, we want to remind them that the Miss April has their back,
and that we will continue to work diligently to serve them, as they served us.